Angelenos call for resignations and reforms at town hall on racist audio leak
The latest scandal in the saga over the alleged racist audio, which erupted after a meeting between the mayor and the city’s police union, is the fallout from an embarrassing back-and-forth between the mayor and the city attorney’s office over the audio that was later posted on the internet.
During the meeting, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is heard discussing the racist tape with Chief Cathy Lissila and Police Chief Charlie Beck, and how it could put the department “in real trouble” if the audio was released. He even said the department should resign, if officials were found to be guilty of “discriminatory and racist practices,” according to the transcript from the meeting.
The recording sparked outrage that led to an outpouring of criticism for the mayor, who’d apologized to the police union but insisted he’d never said anything racist.
Villaraigosa held a news conference on Wednesday with the audio posted on his website with the following statement:
The City Council has voted to place Chief of Police Cathy Lissila of the Los Angeles Police Department on administrative leave after she was recorded on a disturbing racist audio leak that surfaced in a public meeting. The City Council also voted to terminate Chief of Security Leland Johnson of the LAPD today.
The LAPD’s Internal Affairs Division investigated the leaked audio which reveals Chief Lissila and Chief Beck discussing the alleged racist audio. Internal Affairs found that the actions of both officers do not reflect a pattern of discriminatory and racist behavior, and that they do not cause violations of civil rights.
At this time, the City of Los Angeles (the Mayor’s office) is waiting to hear from the Department of Justice before it determines whether to file a lawsuit or investigate criminal charges against any department officials involved in the release of the audio. If this matter is investigated without charges being brought, the Mayor will work with the LAPD and their leadership to conduct a thorough and independent investigation to determine the facts.
While I have no further comment, I do understand his need to defend himself by saying the audio is not racist. My question is, is the audio actually racist? Because from my own experiences